Data Scientist

About Us
PCV is a nonprofit community development investor that supports small business entrepreneurs and their communities to build economic mobility through the power of inclusive entrepreneurship and a good quality job. We work side-by-side with small business leaders through our unique integrated model: combining impact-first Restorative Capital and Pro Bono Business Advising with our Good Jobs Innovation Lab that propels thriving communities with equitable jobs, climate outcomes, uplifts and amplifies their voices and needs through research and policy advocacy.

The Role
Are you an experienced data scientist who is passionate about applying your data and technology development skills towards building a more equitable society? If so, please consider joining Pacific Community Ventures as a Data Scientist. As a mission-driven lender, we invest in diverse small businesses across the state of California to help them grow and strengthen their practices. You’ll work to take our renowned data practices to the next level, setting new standards in the community development financial institution (CDFI) ecosystem for machine learning and artificial intelligence innovations to expand access to capital, advising, and good jobs in underestimated communities.

Why You’re Needed
We’re a dynamic nonprofit organization with a growing Loan Fund that supports more and more small businesses with loans and pro bono mentoring, creating good jobs in low-and-moderate income communities. With our expansion, we are adding systems, processes, and software to reach entrepreneurs more effectively, and manage the outcomes and impact of our work more efficiently. You will be a member of our Data Hub team, able to expand PCV’s reputation for data excellence. You bring a strong track record of success in data and analytics, machine learning, artificial intelligence, and insights generation, with strong analytical, technical, writing, and interpersonal skills. You are self-directed, able to create clarity out of ambiguity, attentive to detail and data integrity, think critically, and are passionate about investing in underserved communities and creating good jobs.

Position Overview
This position will report to the Principal Researcher/Chief Data Officer. This is a wonderful opportunity to drive transformative advancements in data infrastructure and innovation by supporting PCV’s Data Hub initiative and building tools that amplify PCV’s impact across underserved communities.

The Data Scientist will advance PCV’s research and innovation capability and build best practices around an ethical and collaborative data culture. This role will sit within the Data Hub and will serve to strengthen PCV’s reputation as a data leader in the CDFI space.

Key Responsibilities
Research with the Good Jobs Innovation Lab
● Collaborate closely with the Lab to create and facilitate a unique and bold Research Agenda, based on PCV’s data capabilities, internal knowledge of gaps in the CDFI ecosystem, stakeholder input, and staff capacity.
● Mentor Lab staff by holding data science office hours to assist in ongoing Lab research projects with the aim of increasing staff confidence and knowledge of statistical and machine learning methods.
● Design and carry out innovative research projects in collaboration with the Lab, from data collection through to delivery of results, in alignment with PCVs Research Agenda.
● Publicly publish and internally peer review research and data stories that advance the use and understanding of data in the CDFI and economic mobility space.

Data Culture, Education, and Governance
● Working with other data staff, conduct a review of data culture at PCV, assessing staff willingness to use, collect and store available data and current practices around data hygiene and governance.
● Build PCV’s data governance best practices, taking into account data workers’ daily flow, available industry standards, and PCV’s data infrastructure capabilities.
● Create a plan to implement these best practices, including education and regular internal audits around data usage capabilities, and its governance, with the aim of furthering an open and inclusive attitude towards data at PCV.
● Regularly touch base with senior management to ensure data governance and data culture continues to be a priority.
Data Science Collaboration
● Own Data Science projects from various stakeholders that require heavy machine learning, AI, or statistical capabilities, such as metric creation, building a chat-bot, or a market segmentation model.
● Take a Data Science project through from beginning to end, working closely with stakeholders to understand the problem, design, build and deliver a solution, and monitor results.
● Employ and experiment with EDA, Feature Engineering, model evaluation, and other ML techniques to drive iterative scoping of the project, based on stakeholder feedback at various touchpoints.
● Write production-quality code in Python, including testing, logging, and CI/CD, working with data and ML engineers to deploy solutions in a production environment.
● Miscellaneous duties and responsibilities can be added at any time.

Qualifications, Skills & Experience:
We strive hard to be a diverse and inclusive place to work. We value new perspectives, original ideas, and different ways of working. You will bring a background of working with dynamic teams and projects, as well as excellent analytical and communications skills that you are eager to apply to complex social problems. You should demonstrate a deep commitment to creating social and environmental benefit, under-invested people, and places.

Education and Experience
● Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Data Science, Statistics, and/or Computer Science, with a focus on Data Science and Cybersecurity.
● 5+ years of experience as a Data Scientist, in a research-oriented role requiring statistical and ML experience.

Technical Expertise
● Ability to formulate and carry out a research project from hypothesis and data collection through to testing and delivery of results.
● In-depth understanding of statistical frameworks such as probability distributions and Bayesian theory, including their limitations.
● Hands-on experience implementing ML techniques in Python, such as sampling, dimension reduction, regression, tree algorithms, and clustering algorithms.
● Strong writing skills, experience in writing research briefs and delivering insights and results to stakeholders.
● Proficiency in Python and machine learning frameworks (e.g., scikit-learn, TensorFlow, PyTorch, Pandas).
● Familiarity with data policy and governance best practices.
Core Competencies
● Strong problem-solving skills with the ability to scope and target key pain points.
● Enthusiasm for collaboration and mentorship in order to foster a communal data culture.
● Excellent communication skills to deliver complex data in a simple, actionable way.
● Commitment to leveraging technology for social good and advancing economic equity.

Other Qualifications
● Strongly preferred: experience working in the CDFI ecosystem as demonstrated in comfort with financial services practices and terminology.
● Strongly preferred: Knowledge of Tableau (and other data visualization software).
● Strongly preferred: Hands-on experience deploying models in production using cloud platforms like AWS, GCP, or Azure.
● Strongly preferred: Familiarity with CI/CD pipelines, SQL/NoSQL databases, and version control systems like Git.
● Strongly preferred: Experience creating and implementing data governance best practices.

Location/Travel
This position can be remote, but will require at least six hours per day (Monday through Friday) of overlap with colleagues in the US Pacific time zone for virtual collaboration.

Computer Software:
Microsoft Office to include Word, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Excel
Tableau and Salesforce a plus

Physical and Mental Requirements:

• Ability to stand for extended periods of time, walk, talk, hear, use hands to finger, grasp, handle or feel, push, pull, reach, crouch, kneel, crawl or bend, and perform repetitive motions of the hands and/or wrists.
• High mental and visual attention required for planning difficult work methods and sequences to obtain size, shape, or physical qualities of product. AND/OR Extremely close visual attention such as making delicate adjustments to control high speed operations to exercise very precise muscular control.

To Apply
Interested candidates must be legally authorized to work in the United States.

Pay: $85,000.00 - $95,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• Dental insurance
• Health insurance
• Health savings account
• Life insurance
• Paid time off
• Professional development assistance
• Retirement plan
• Vision insurance

Work Location: Hybrid remote in Oakland, CA 94612